N.J. Assembly panel to vote on bill banning cosmetic use of Botox by minors

Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerA doctor administers Botox to a South Plainfield resident in this 2002 file photo.

TRENTON — An Assembly panel will consider a bill today to ban cosmetic use of Botox by minors.

Botox, a brand name for a type of botulism toxin, is commonly used in adults to smooth out wrinkles. But the bill (A3838) cites a study that found teen use of the toxin on the rise, with 12,110 patients under the age of 18 using it in 2009 — up almost 50 percent increase from the previous year.

The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee is expected to vote on the legislation this at its 10 a.m. meeting.

A San Francisco, Calif. woman recently made headlines after telling the press she injects her eight-year-old daughter with the toxin for beauty pageants.

Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex) introduced the bill in February, after seeing news accounts of teens using the toxin. She did not learn of the 8-year-old until later.

“My concern was teenage girls, and when I found out a mother was injecting her 8-year-old girl, I thought that was child abuse,” said Tucker.

Use of Botox on minors for medical reasons would still be allowed, since it is used to treat facial spasms and certain eye conditions.

The bill would leave it up to the State Board of Medical Examiners and the commissioner of Health and Senior Services to develop the regulations and set penalties.